Leg weakness, limping, and laying on the ground.

[Amelise]

My grandparents are having issues with their flock, and I need ideas on what it could be.

Two days ago, one of their pullets was “favoring one leg” and she died suddenly the next day. No other losses so far, but 3 or 4 other flock members seem to be showing these symptoms now. They limp and lay on the ground, but still seem to be eating and drinking.
Per my suggestion, the are switching the weird, off brand grower food they initially got to Purina flock raiser because the symptoms seem to be those of a deficiency. They’re also going to see if they can find some flock fixer to put in their water and give them an extra boost.
They also seem to have some red spots on their legs. Could it also be mites?

It’s very rainy where they live so there’s a lot of moisture. Not sure how often (if at all) they’ve cleaned out the coop. Thankfully, they go out to free range for most of the day, so whatever bad conditions are in the coop they don’t have to be in for too long.

Are my guesses right? Is there anything else they could be doing to help their flock get better? Thanks for the help.

 

[azygous]

This is very scary when it happens in a flock. It's happened in mine so I know the feeling.

I usually look at environmental factors when more than one chicken is affected. Feed can be a cause if it is contaminated. Usually, feed gets wet along the route from milling and packaging to distribution points. Mold can produce these symptoms. The feed will have a very bad smell and will be discolored.

Another source of lameness and lethargy is petroleum distillate poisoning. This can happen from exposure to pesticides and leaking machinery.

Avian viruses, from virulent avian influenza to chronic Marek's and lymphoid leucosis can cause such symptoms, but the progression from onset of symptoms to death is much slower than what your grandparents' flock is showing.

Contaminated well water or recovered rain water can sometimes cause these symptoms.

Look over these possibilities and maybe something will pop out. Most of these have no treatment, unfortunately.

 

[Amelise]

This is very scary when it happens in a flock. It's happened in mine so I know the feeling.

I usually look at environmental factors when more than one chicken is affected. Feed can be a cause if it is contaminated. Usually, feed gets wet along the route from milling and packaging to distribution points. Mold can produce these symptoms. The feed will have a very bad smell and will be discolored.

Another source of lameness and lethargy is petroleum distillate poisoning. This can happen from exposure to pesticides and leaking machinery.

Avian viruses, from virulent avian influenza to chronic Marek's and lymphoid leucosis can cause such symptoms, but the progression from onset of symptoms to death is much slower than what your grandparents' flock is showing.

Contaminated well water or recovered rain water can sometimes cause these symptoms.

Look over these possibilities and maybe something will pop out. Most of these have no treatment, unfortunately.

I got these chicks shipped to me and they were vaccinated for Mareks, I believe. I don’t remember if their water source comes from a well or not, I’ll have to ask them about that. It could be bad feed, it rains so much and it’s hard to kee their feed source dry. Also, grandparents been sick for the past few days, so maybe they haven’t been able to change out he feed like they usually do.
I asked them to take one to the vet (maybe then they can treat the whole flock), but I’m not sure if they believe in spending that much money on a chicken.

 

[Amelise]

Update:

Water source is good, they’ve been getting drinking water from the city.
Feed is dry, no mould to be seen.
No leaking machinery, but possibly herbicides being used in the vicinity.
No other symptoms of said viruses so far.

I have a feeling it was the feed. My grandfather bought a brown feed bag labeled “grower”. No additional information on the bag, no feed tag. They’ve been on this feed since we gave the chickens to them at 6 week and they’re 12 weeks now. I think it was crappy cheap feed causing a deficiency. They’ve bought the new feed, I’m not sure if they’ve switched it out from the old yet.

According to the grandparents, the flock seems to be doing a little better. They think the flock “got something” from the old coop. (We gave them the coop that we had our previous flock in).

 

[EmmaRainboe]

I got these chicks shipped to me and they were vaccinated for Mareks, I believe. I don’t remember if their water source comes from a well or not, I’ll have to ask them about that. It could be bad feed, it rains so much and it’s hard to kee their feed source dry. Also, grandparents been sick for the past few days, so maybe they haven’t been able to change out he feed like they usually do.
I asked them to take one to the vet (maybe then they can treat the whole flock), but I’m not sure if they believe in spending that much money on a chicken.

If they lose another one, I would recommend sending it to your state lab for a necropsy.

 

[azygous]

If they use non-restrictive herbicides, meaning that they don't require a special license to buy and apply, herbicides are generally harmless to chickens. Insecticides are a different story.

If the grower feed was old when they got it, it could be the problem. That they "got something" from the coop you gave them, isn't a likely thing. About the only things that would survive any length of time in a structure would be coop mites or coop tics and Marek's virus.

To see if the coop has mites, someone has to go in at night any wipe a perch with a damp white cloth and see if any red smears appear on it. Coop mites could cause the symptoms as they irritate tissue and also can cause anemia.

Mites are a serious problem and needs to be verified if they are in the coop or not.

 

[Amelise]

If they lose another one, I would recommend sending it to your state lab for a necropsy.

If they use non-restrictive herbicides, meaning that they don't require a special license to buy and apply, herbicides are generally harmless to chickens. Insecticides are a different story.

If the grower feed was old when they got it, it could be the problem. That they "got something" from the coop you gave them, isn't a likely thing. About the only things that would survive any length of time in a structure would be coop mites or coop tics and Marek's virus.

To see if the coop has mites, someone has to go in at night any wipe a perch with a damp white cloth and see if any red smears appear on it. Coop mites could cause the symptoms as they irritate tissue and also can cause anemia.

Mites are a serious problem and needs to be verified if they are in the coop or not.

I saw the tiny red spots on their legs (as seen in the leg pics on the first post when you zoom in) and suggested to them that it could be mites, so they got a (spray?) and used it on their legs yesterday and today. Could you please elaborate on how the cloth tests works so I can explain better to them? Do the mites show up on the cloth? Are the mites red or is it their blood? Why does it need to be at night? Sorry for all the questions, a little confused on how that works.

Also, a necropsy would be nice. We’ll see if we have the money to do it if another one dies.

 

[azygous]

Yes, the mites show up as blood on the cloth because they only come out at night to feed on the chickens' blood. Unlike lice, which live on the chickens, feeding on skin particles, mites hide in cracks in the coop, unseen during the day.

To treat mites, you have to treat the coop with a strong but safe insecticide such as liquid permethrin or spinosad (Elector PSP).

 

[Amelise]

Another update:

The chickens seem to be doing better! They are walking around more with the exception of one that is still resting most of the time but gets up to eat and drink.

It seems that environmental factor we forgot to consider was people. Today my grandmother saw some kids with BB guns in the woods of their property. They were shooting them haphazardly around throughout the neighborhood so it’s very possible that they may have shot at the chickens when my grandparents were not there.
This could explain the very sudden death of the grey pullet, since I assume that she could quickly succumb to a pellet wound in a vital area.
We don’t know for sure if this was the cause, but I do know that pellet wounds are difficult to spot so it’s definitely a possibility. (Paired with the fact that the grandparents have difficulty catching the chickens to examine them).
Grandfather put up a camera to monitor the chicken yard and is considering the cost of vet bills for the flock.

 

[Amelise]

They caught two boys shooting at the chickens again today. Out of the 8 chickens my grandparents had, 3 are injured and one is dead. The parents of the children who shot the chickens said they will pay for the dead bird and the vet bills. Very upset that the grandparents lost one of their two pullets this way. Hopefully the injured birds will pull through and nothing like this will happen again.